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So does that mean the Mavic wheels are re-branded Lightweights? Such deception!

No, the Mavic wheels used by Garmin, Liquigas, and Katusha are true Cosmic Carbone Ultimates that you can buy through any authorized Mavic dealer.

You'll notice that lately the CCUs used by the teams often have 3 long yellow stickers on them that say "Special Service Course". The way it was explained to me is that those CCUs are specially selected off the assembly line as the lightest CCUs and given to the teams they sponsor.

(I wanted to add that the 12K carbon weave on the CCUs is a dead giveaway that they're NOT Lightweights when you look at photos of the bikes.)

I have been on a pair since May, and I have to say that they are good, no great, for the price. The tires are supple, grippy on the sides for cornering, and above average protection. I put over a 1,000 miles with only a little wear. The tires have held up well for the crappy roads around here. I can go about 36 hrs before I feel the need to air my tires back up. I have raced on them in crits, circuits, and roads.

I cannot speak towards the ability to handle wet or rainy conditions though.

I got two pairs (plus an additional two pairs of the clincher ones) but I haven't had time to mount them up and check them out. Also , it's been raining here a lot for the last couple of weeks.

I don't think they're Veloflex since they have the Made in Thailand stamp. THey look like a cross between the Panaracer Extreme Jet (which I believe were made in the Lyon factory in Thailand) and some of the higher end Challenge tires.

I finally got around to gluing the Yksion GRipLink/Powerlink tires I bought in the summer to my Corima Aeros. Like I mentioned in my previous post, they appear to be made in the Challenge factory and they ride very similar to the Challenge tires I've had in the past. Although these seem to have better grip. I've only done a 40 km ride on them but I have a race tomorrow where I'll use them and will be able to give some more feedback.

Now, I also bought two sets of the newer version Yksions (the ones with the tread pattern shown in cwdzoot's picture) and I can definitely tell you that they're not made by the Vittoria factory. These do not have a center seam under the base tape. The casing feels good, in a COnti competition kind of way. Final clue as to who precisely makes them, the stamp on the tread that says " MADE IN CZ"

I just bought a set of Bontrager XXX Lite carbon tubular wheels and I'll probably glue these tires to those wheels. I'll post additional feedback then.

indywagon wrote:So, does that mean they're Tufos? Help me out here!Chris

Yup.

As a follow up, I had that race this morning using the Mavic tires...they actually worked pretty well. Nothing earth shattering but they were comfortable, seemed to roll nicely and allowed me to be pretty confident diving into both U-turns of the race. The pavement was pretty bad in some spots, with many small potholes that claimed several tires (and one Cosmic Carbone SL rim!) along the way. Zero cuts on mine.

Note that the ones I'm trying out now are the ones that at least appear to be made by Challenge. I haven't tried the ones that seem to be made by Tufo yet (the ones with the tread like the one shown in cdwzoot's picture in this thread).